1 The Impact of Adult and Community Education on Women's Lives A thesis submitted in fulfilment ...

116 Pages·2016·1.36 MB·English

The Impact of Adult and Community Education
on Women’s Lives

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the
Degree
of Master of Arts in Education
School of Educational Studies and Leadership

in the University of Canterbury

by

Jennifer Alison Leahy
University of Canterbury
2016

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Abstract

Adult and Community Education (ACE) in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ) is part of the
tertiary education sector and takes place alongside the formal sector. This research
project focuses on what prompts women to engage in ACE and the subsequent
impact on their lives. Furthermore, it will define the features of successful learning
environments within ACE as identified by the women participants. In particular, the
research concentrates on women who participated in non-accredited and non-
vocational ACE programmes in a range of community-based contexts. Underpinned
by social constructionist and interpretivist understandings, this inquiry focuses
primarily on particular impacts in the social and personal development of women
involved in ACE.

Qualitative data collection methods were used, by exploring women’s experiences in
face-to-face interviews. Key themes highlighted women’s involvement in ACE was
an opportunity for women to meet new people, manage the impact of social
isolation and to experience and/or enjoy the mutual support of other women. ACE
was also undertaken for practical reasons such as financial accessibility and fewer
barriers to participation. Other themes identified were around opportunities
available for women to develop their confidence and enhance their personal
development. For some women, this subsequently had positive impacts on their
families.

An unexpected finding from these results was, for some women, participation in ACE
was primarily for social and personal development as opposed to a focus on
credentialing and vocational skills. In contrast to previous literature, the research
project provides little evidence of limitations imposed by conventional ideas of
women’s roles or a lack of participants’ confidence restricting their participation in
ACE courses. These results have provided a new picture of the meaning of ACE in
women’s lives. The study is a reminder of the importance of diverse programme
provision which women value for various reasons.

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Dedication

This research is dedicated to the memory of my mother Alison Leahy and friend and
former colleague, Cecelia Lashlie. You both have influenced my life in so many
incredible ways and my life is richer because of the positive impact you have had on
my life. It has been a privilege to have spent many happy years with you.

For my children, Millie and Jack Osborne. Thank you for your patience and
inspiration so that I want to try to do my best always for you both. Even though you
couldn’t see the point of my constant commitment to completing this work Jack, I
hope one day you will recognise the importance of being able to complete a project
you feel strongly about despite any challenges. Thank you Millie for being so positive
about my work and so wise. You are both a constant joy in my life, I am so proud of
you and I am reminded every day how lucky I am to be your mother.

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Whakatauki (Proverb)

This thesis takes inspiration from three whakatauki which reflect the focus of the
thesis.

Me aro koe ki te ha
Hineahuone
Pay heed to the dignity of women

Ma te mohio ka ora
Ma te ora ka mohio
Through learning there is life
Through life here is learning

Ko te piko o te māhuri, ko tērā te tupu o te rākau
The way in which the sapling if nurtured, determines how the tree will grow

In my study of women and their involvement in adult and community education, it
was evident that many of these learners had not experienced the quality of
educational experiences early in their lives which enabled them to have confidence
in their future pathways. The thesis identifies the ways in which women choose to
engage in a wide variety of Adult and Community education courses which may
impact on their own lives and the lives of their whanau (family).

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Acknowledgements

The journey of this research has been a long and sometimes challenging part of my
life. In 2010 after being made redundant from the University of Canterbury Adult
Education Teaching and Research Department, I had the opportunity to continue
with a PhD that I had started as a member of staff. Through the re-establishment of
a new career, the serious earthquakes that hit Christchurch in 2010 and 2011 and
the sudden death of my close friend, Ces Lashlie, I continued on. After huge sacrifice
and determination to do my absolute best, to my sad disappointment, the PhD was
not to be, but importantly this research is complete.

I am extremely proud to have been able to produce this research as it was always
important to me to be able to honour the women that inspired me and who are at
the heart of this work. Thank you to the women I met in the Education Centre at
Christchurch Women’s Prison from 1989 – 2000. Your commitment to learning and
to try to change for the sake of your whanau (family) has been a guiding influence
throughout this project. Thank you too to the wonderful women that I interviewed
in this project and the staff members who helped me to be able to interview the
students at various ACE Centres. I am very grateful to you for sharing your lives with
me.

Throughout this journey has been my constant advisor and supporter, my Senior
Supervisor Dr Marion Bowl who I will always feel enormous respect for and greatly
appreciate all that you have done to support me with this research. I really
appreciated your prompt and skilful help from across the world in Birmingham, U.K.
and especially your visits back to Aotearoa New Zealand. Right up until the final days
you pushed me to try to be “more academic” in my approach and I will never forget
your efforts to help me to complete this project. Thank you as well to Dr Kathleen
Quinlivan, my second supervisor. I have valued the opportunities we had to meet,
learn, discuss and greatly appreciated your encouragement to complete this project.
Thank you to Dr Helen Hayward for your support in the early days of this thesis.

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Thank you to Tim Davies in Birmingham for your clear and precise editing and
formatting. Your generous support at a key time really helped.
I will always be so grateful to my friend and former colleague, Dr Robyn Chandler
and our scholarly meetings at “Under the Red Veranda Cafe”. Your gentle and
supportive wisdom got me to completion and I will never forget your support. I am
very appreciative for Dr Jessica Ritchie’s patience and professional guidance from
the UC Academic Skills Centre. You lifted my spirits and performance at a crucial
time. Thank you too to Jan Meehan for your coaching sessions that helped me to
keep going.

My love and gratitude to my parents, Alison and Terry Leahy who nurtured my
lifelong learning journey. I have been lucky to have on-going support from my family
and friends and many of you are present in the thesis as your names are “used” in
this research to ensure the confidentiality of the women I interviewed. I am also
lucky to have a group of wonderful friends and I thank you all for your care. As I
struggled on at my kitchen table for years, your support kept me going in so many
different ways.

To Mo Wilkinson, Maree Gemmell and Kerrie Ashcroft, thank you for your support
from afar. Our annual holiday in the Abel Tasman Park will at last be a holiday for all
of us and not interspersed with my reading and writing tasks each day. To Sarah
Maindonald, Jennie Farrar-De Wagt, Julie Moon, and Dr Nataliya Oryshuchuk, thank
you for your help at critical stages. For Bronwyn Yates, Bridget O’Regan, Therese La
Porte, Analiess Robertson and Gillian-Rose thank you for your support and for
employing me off and on over the years. Thank you Jacqui Benter-Lynch for care and
help to keep going as well as Diana Law, Heather Clark, Dr Rowan Jeffery and my
other colleagues at Ara Institute of Canterbury. Thank you too to my ACE
whanau(family) in Christchurch for your on-going support especially Amelia Davis,
Matt Walters and the late Maryke Fordyce and for teaching me so much about ACE,
Katherine Peet and Robert Tobias.

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To my sister and close friends who are with me always through our “blog”
connections in life, Helen Leahy, Linda Clark, Claire Ryan, Mary Lambie and Ross
Crosson. You kept me going and showed me time and time again how much you
wanted to help me to complete this thesis. Thank you all for being there in my life
and especially Helen and Linda for your much appreciated help and advice.

Finally, thank you to my husband John Osborne. I really could not have survived
these past years on this thesis journey without your unconditional love and support.
You have always believed in me and I love you for that.

This work is the culmination of support, inspiration and guidance from so many
people, I hope that I have done justice to your support and I especially hope that I
have been able to produce a piece of research that values the Adult and Community
Education sector in Aotearoa New Zealand and especially the women who have
inspired and contributed to this research.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
Whakatauki/Proverbs…………………………………………………………………………………………4
Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………………………….5

Chapter One: Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………… 11
Background to the research ……………………………………………………………………….11
The importance of researching women’s involvement in ACE …………………… 11
The context for the research …………………………………………………………………… 12
Key organisations in the ACE context ………………………………………………………… 15
Features of ACE policy ……………………………………………………………………………… 17
What did I hope to learn?.............................................................................. 19
Aims and Objectives of the research …………………………………………………………. 20
Structure of the thesis……….. …………………………………………………………………….. 20

Chapter Two: A review of the literature on women’s involvement in Adult and
Community Education …………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Social constructionism …………………………………………………………………………….. 24
Adult education and adult learning …………………………………………………………. 25
The confusion around the nature and purpose of education and learning…27
The different types of education ………………………………………………………………28
The gains for women from their participation in adult education …………….. 30
Individual gains from participation in ACE …………………………………………………. 31
Impact on family members from women’s participation in ACE ……………… 35
Features of successful learning environments…………………………………………… 38
Environmental features ……………………………………………………………………………. 38
The role of the adult educator …………………………………………………………………. 39
The opportunities for support and friendship …………………………………………… 40
Chapter conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………… 41

Chapter Three: Research Methodology and design ……………………………………………. 42
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Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 44
Ethical considerations ………………………………………………………………………………. 44
Research design ……………………………………………………………………………………… 45
Selection of ACE centres involved in the research …………………………………… 45
Access issues that impacted on the interview process …………………………….. 49
Preparation for the interviews …………………………………………………………………. 51
Conducting interviews in ACE settings ……………………………………………………….53
My role in the interview process ………………………………………………………………. 53
Reflection on the interview process ………………………………………………………… .55
Data analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 55
Collapsed themes ……………………………………………………………………………………… 56
Chapter conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………… 57

Chapter Four: First Findings…………………………………………………………………………………..58
Participation in ACE enables women to meet new people………………………….58
Participation in ACE as a tool for managing social isolation ………………………..61
New arrivals…………………………………………………………………………………….61
At home with children …………………………………………………………………….62
Participation in ACE provided women with mutual support for their learning ……….63
Other practical considerations supporting ACE participation ……………………..65
Chapter conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….. 68

Chapter Five: Second Findings Chapter ………………………………………………………………69
The impacts of women’s participation in Adult Community Education: effects
on personal and family life ……………………………………………………………………………………. 69
Confidence ………………………………………………………………………………………69
Personal development …………………………………………………………………… 72
The impact on women’s family lives ………………………………………………………… 76
Women’s experiences with their ACE teachers were positive ……………………79
Chapter conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………… ..82

Chapter Six: Discussion of findings …………………………………………………………………… 83
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Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………… 83
Why women participate in Adult and Community Education ………………….83
The impacts of women’s participation in Adult and Community Education 87
Features of successful learning environments ………………………………………… 89
Chapter conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………… 91

Chapter Seven: Conclusions: The meaning of Adult and Community Education in
women’s lives …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 92

Information drawn from women’s experiences of ACE which may inform
policy and practice …………………………………………………………………………………… 97

References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 99

Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….110

Photo Tribute ……………………………………………………………………………………………………116

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